The Monster's Heart
by Specklefur The Cat
Summary: Adam and Amy are both your average traveling explorers who call themselves, "The Wandering Stars". It is their greatest dream to become heroes who do good deeds and save lives, but they start to doubt such thing would happen to them. At least, until now. You see, they do go on and try to be heroes all because of a man named Aaron and a woman named Amelia.
1. Where It All Started

**Welcome to the prologue for my new story, "The Monster's Heart". Yes, Minecraft doesn't seem like a game you'd write a story about, but, trust me, I think it's alright, at least. So, I hope you enjoy. :D**

"Go in." the gruff man commanded, patting a kid's back.

The kid sighed. "I want to look around, first! This place looks so cool." As he spoke, he felt the walls of the hallway, made from blocks of chiseled nether quartz. "Whoever built this place must be an expert."

"You know how important this is, right?" the man questioned. "The Legion of Light is going to discuss something very special. Do you want to miss that?"

"No..." the kid answered, finally going through the birch doors. He was instantly swarmed by men who wore white cloaks made from wool, shaking his hand cheerfully.

"You must be Grant's son!" one man said.

"Aww, you look so young! How old are you?" a woman asked.

The kid didn't want to answer, knowing that this woman was a stranger and strangers shouldn't be trusted. The man, Grant, nudged his kid encouragingly. "Go on. I know her. She's a good friend of mine and a mother as well."

Glancing away shyly, the kid answered. "Uhh, seven?"

"Seven! That's way too young for a new member, but Grant can do what he wants, apparently." The woman stared at Grant as she spoke.

Grant chuckled. "Amelia..." he said in a low voice, looking at something other than the woman's eyes.

Luckily for Grant, a voice cut through the crowd. "Silence! Everyone take their seats."

Everyone suddenly hushed, making the kid feel uneasy. Whoever spoke must be the boss, right? The mass of white robes quickly sat in chairs the kid never even noticed. Grant grabbed his arm and brought the kid to two empty seats. They both sat down.

A man entered the room. His cloak was white, with golden Withers and Dragons sewn into the fabric. His face was completely concealed by the head of a creeper. The empty sockets glanced at everyone in the room, and the scowl made him look even more intimidating, even though it was quite obvious that it wasn't his real face.

"Welcome Myrick." Everyone said at once.

Grant nudged the kid. He quickly perked up. "Welcome Mayrick!" he quickly said, not caring that he had mispronounced Myrick's name.

"Welcome all." Myrick answered. "Welcome to a very special meeting for the Legion of Light. I know this may interfere with daily life, being short notice and all, but I believe we have found what is causing all the corrupt monsters."

Everyone turned their heads to each other, muttering. Myrick showed no emotion, or even showed that he noticed the people in front of him (though it could just be the mask), and so he stayed silent. The mutters soon ended when Myrick raised his hand. "I would like to thank Steve for finding this source of corruption," he said, waiting for the sudden cheers and claps and chanting ("Steve! Steve! Steve!") to end. "As we all know, monsters never really die. We may kill them, but they always wake back up and start preparing to hunt us down again. I have wondered why this was so until we found something interesting. Steve, please explain."

A man who had a visible blue shirt and blue jeans underneath his robes stood up. "I was out exploring a bit when I met a villager. He was a very odd young man who wore green robes and spoke of things I never thought I'd hear a villager say. Things about temples and potions and apples of the golden variety. We spoke for a bit, and he rambled on about mansions full of insane villagers and temples that sunk underneath the sea. He asked me if I knew about things that enable you to glide and great purple flying ships that Endermen ride. I thought he was crazy, but at the same time, he seemed to know what he was talking about. It was strange," Steve admitted. "Then, he told me about the Monster's Heart. It, according to him, is the power of insanity, vanity, and immortality compacted into one little object, so vile and wretched that creatures of our darkest fears spawn from it. Once again, I thought he was crazy. I said, 'What proof do you have?', and he said, 'I saw it myself. Still don't believe me? Take this' and gave me this book."

Steve tossed a book at Myrick, who caught it with ease. The kid realized that the book was covered in brown stains and felt sick. Myrick opened the book to the first page. "Aha," he said quietly, before reading aloud. "'The Monster's Heart is a mystical object made from vile states of mind and the greatest curse of all to create what fuels monsters today. Back then, so few people survived whenever they decided to take a glimpse at the heart, since, according to them, it is guarded by many monsters of many varieties; zombies, skeletons, and creepers are just a few of the spotted monsters. The Heart has now been hidden for centuries, but it is only a matter of time until some fool stumbles upon it.' Well, looks like we have an artifact to search for, and with the rebellion against us, it'll be hard. However, with our new addition," Myrick looked at the kid. "We might stand a chance."

Everyone stood up. "Welcome, son of Grant, savior of the world." they said. The kid blushed.


	2. Chapter 1: The Villager

**Okay, here is the first chapter for the story. Now, with this chapter, I have some things to say. 1. This entire story has been planned for a long time. That means you should pay close attention while reading. Who knows? Maybe someone's a traitor? ;) 2. I will not post for a while. Don't assume I forgot about the story. The reason why I won't post for a while is because I will write multiple chapters at once, so I don't leave everyone waiting for a year for a single chapter. Now, go ahead and enjoy the story.**

 _14 years later..._

"Amy, we have to start walking."

Amy woke up with a grunt. Opening her eyes, she saw Adam, her best friend, standing over her with his hands on his hips. "We have to hurry! We have something important to do!"

"Right," Amy mumbled. Recently, Adam has said that he was informed about "something important" that they must head off to. Whatever this important thing was, Adam never told her. "Let's go."

The two of them ate pork for breakfast before quickly heading off towards where the sun rose. The two were silent, with their hands kept on their stone swords. Amy was already growing bored. This was everyday life at the moment. Everyday life is boring.

How far was this mysterious place? The two of them walked for hours until the sun had climbed high into the sky. What was it that they had to do? They sat down and ate more pork. Why was it them who were going instead of more famous heroes, like whoever the Legion of Light are? Amy looked at Adam, who was scowling. "We're running out of food. We'll need to find more." he said.

"I'll get apples." Amy volunteered, desperate for even a little change in routine. She quickly ran off to the nearest oak and stared up at the leaves. Among the leaves were a few, bright red apples, enough to last a short while. Smiling, she jumped up high and punched the leaves until each apple, one by one, dropped onto the ground.

She returned with an armful of apples. Adam took the apple that sat on the top and looked at it. "It'll be enough for now. We'll need more food soon."

"Be thankful we have food." Amy said, snatching Adam's apple and taking a bite.

(Timeskip)

"Tell me."

"No. It's a surprise."

"It's really important, though. I have to know."

"Eh, you don't."

"Dang it." Amy sighed. Adam would never tell her this important thing.

Adam looked around. "We'll stop here for the night."

"But it's not even close to dusk yet." Amy pointed out.

"Don't question it, please." Adam fixed his eyes onto Amy, with his trademark scowl thrown in.

Amy smiled. "When we become great heroes that fight evil and help save lives, you'll be a great leader." she said, partially to make sure a fight didn't break out between them.

"I don't know about being leader. You're a pretty strong lady, and you- and you-" Adam tried to think. "Eh, we'll decide once people start interviewing us and they ask who the leader is."

The two sat down, placed down the sleeping bags they were carrying, and ate a meal of half a porkchop and two apples. Amy thoughtfully chewed on her food, wishing that what they had talked about wouldn't just remain a fantasy.

The sun sank below the earth, and the moon flew higher into the sky, glowing brighter. Amy looked around, before spotting what looked like a building. She gasped.

"Adam!" Amy whispered.

Adam turned to Amy and stopped what he was doing: placing down torches to keep the area they were sleeping in lit up. "Yes?"

"There's a village! Do you think they'll help us?" Amy asked.

"I don't know... Villagers are pretty strange. They act differently than most human beings."

Amy crossed her arms. "Human beings tend to be selfish. That must mean villagers tend to be kind by your logic."

Adam opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. "Actually, what can we lose? If they do help us, then hooray, we got help. If not, they can't fight, so we'll just leave, no problem."

"Agreed." Amy said. "Let's go."

They stood up and walked up to the village, ready to attack if any monsters decided to pay them a visit. As Amy approached the houses, though, she noticed something strange. "Hey... this village looks abandoned."

And it did. Footprints covered gravel paths, but no one was walking. There wasn't any signs of villagers. No farming, slamming doors, footsteps...

"It's empty. Do you think there'd be leftover loot in one of the houses?" Adam questioned.

"Adam!" Amy whispered. "We don't know if this village is actually abandoned."

"You just said it was."

"I said it looked like it."

"Let's just hide in one of the houses. Even if they don't have anything to give us, we can at least be safe tonight without having to wake up in the middle of the night due to monsters," Adam said. "No argument. Let's go."

Well, monsters were starting to appear, so hiding in the houses made sense. The question was, which one? Amy pondered for a moment, looking from house to house, when suddenly one caught her attention. Adam seemed to have noticed it, too, judging by how he had suddenly gasped.

This house had two floors, though it was must more taller than the cobblestone towers. On the second floor, there seemed to be bookshelves piled all the way to the ceiling, as well as... movement?

Amy felt Adam tug at her arm. "Let's go there," he said.

"But Adam, I saw someone up there."

"We'll fight it if it turns out to be a monster."

"I'm already going to hold onto my sword."

They quickly ran up to the house, hoping to enter it before the monsters came. Adam twisted the doorknob and opened the door. The two of them charged inside before Adam closed the door again. Amy hurriedly grabbed a nearby chair and blocked the door.

Adam turned his head towards Amy. "Alright, so, let's first deal with whoever, or whatever, is upstairs," he said. "Then we'll stay here for the night." He walked up to a flight of wooden stairs, gestured for Amy to follow, and made his way up, one step at a time.

Amy gripped on her sword, before tiptoeing towards Adam. "What do you think is up here?" she asked quietly.

"A zombie, maybe." Adam replied. Amy could hear footsteps, and they did sound slow. Actually, they sounded slower than the average zombie. She watched as Adam quickly hurried up, shouted some sort of war-cry, and immediately groaned. "Well, this is bad."

Amy hurried up, not believing what she saw when she came up. Adam stood over a villager's who was lying on the ground with his arms wrapped around his head.

Shocked silence.

"You KILLED a VILLAGER, Adam!" Amy exclaimed.

Adam shrugged. "Maybe not kill, more like bonked on the head with the pointy end of the sword, and then he fell over without moving ever again."

"Killed, Adam."

"Excuse me," a voice said. "But I have a feeling that I'm not dead."

Amy and Adam looked down and saw the villager, who had finally stood up. He wore green robes and looked a bit mad and confused at the same time. "I want an explanation. Who are you and what are you doing in my home?"

"We, uhh, wanted to spend the night here." Adam replied sheepishly.

"As long as you don't plan to attack me again."

"Of course. Why should we?" Amy told the villager.

The villager was silent. He turned his head away and placed his hand over his mouth, clearly thinking about something, but he quickly snapped out of whatever he was in and shook his head. "Of course. You have no reason to." he said in a dull voice.

There was something wrong. Amy knew it. The villager had hesitated, and the way he acted pointed to one possibility. "You're lying." she said. Adam turned his head towards Amy, confused.

Quickly, the villager spoke. "Can you guys wait here for a second?" he asked. Before either of them could answer, the villager ran off to the other end of the room.

"Do you think he's mad?" Adam whispered to Amy.

"Maybe, but if he is, what can he do about it?" Amy whispered back. "He's just a villager."

"I can hear you." the villager called out. "Anyway, I have no intention of harming you until you decide to harm me. Now please wait a second."

The villager seemed to be trying to tear apart some of his wall. Amy felt like she should come over and help, but she just stood still instead. Amy watched as the villager finally tore up the wall after quite a few seconds, revealing a head of a lady who appeared to be a teen. Amy wondered whether the head was severed or connected to an actual, living person until the head moved to face Adam. 'Alive it is.' Amy thought.

The lady crawled through the broken wall, still keeping her eyes on Adam. "Why is he here?" she asked. As she spoke, the villager flipped a switch and shrugged his shoulders.

"They just arrived." the villager answered. "They also tried to attack me, though I believe they thought I was a zombie or something."

"Sure, let's go with that." the lady chuckled. "But we should introduce ourselves. I am Amelia."

The villager nodded. "I am Aaron. Now, I have one question: what are you really doing here?"


	3. Chapter 2: House of Weirdos

**Finally, after two thousand years, the next chapter comes! The chapter after this comes soon, so don't worry. I'm sorry if any of the next two chapters are short and/or boring. I'm trying to work on extending chapter lengths, and I promise the story gets interesting soon. :D**

"Wha-what?" Adam stuttered. "I told you, we needed shelter."

"And he's also wondering if there was stuff to take, but I doubt he'd take stuff from you now that he knows this house is inhabited," Amy added. "I didn't want to, but he insisted."

Aaron glanced at Amelia, who shrugged. "They're good, I guess." she said.

"Now, why was a lady in your wall?" Adam questioned.

"It's my hiding place," Amelia said. "If there's an intruder, I hide in the wall. Who are you guys?"

Adam stepped forwards. "I'm Adam," he said, before gesturing towards Amy. "She is Amy. Why are you so suspicious? We did nothing wrong."

"Because the Legion of Light is rising. It's worrying," Aaron answered.

Amy was confused. "Why is it worrying? The Legion of Light is the team meant to save us from the monsters!" When she said this, though, Aaron sighed. Amelia stared at Amy as if she was crazy. Adam was silent.

After a moment of silence, Aaron finally spoke. "The Legion wants to get rid of darkness by destroying the Monster's Heart so there'll be nothing but good. I see where they're coming from, but they fail to see the problem," he said. "Without darkness, light cannot exist. What would happen to our world if there was neither darkness or light? That is a question I'd prefer to remain unanswered."

"So, basically, we shouldn't let the Legion of Light get their hands on the Monster's Heart," Amelia explained. "However, they recently found where the Heart could possibly be, and so we must act fast and make sure that it remains our of their reach."

It made sense, and yet, Amy couldn't believe her ears. The team she thought was legendary turned out to be delusional. The Heart, the thing that creates all monsters, should be protected. "Thank you for the information." Amy said, hoping to hide her shock.

"You're welcome," Aaron answered, starting to pace. "Now, we need to make sure that the Heart is safe, but the Rebellion has been defeated years ago. The members have scattered across the world, and now no one knows who belonged to the Rebellion. We'll need to build a new one, perhaps search for the old members."

Adam perked up. "We can help!" he exclaimed all of the sudden.

"What?" Amy turned to Adam. "We barely know them and you're trying to send us on a random mission?"

Unfortunately for Amy, Adam wasn't listening. "We all can go! Amy's actually pretty tough, Aaron already seems to know a bunch of stuff, I'm a good leader, and you, Amelia-" Adam awkwardly paused. "I... still don't know your redeeming qualities, but I'm sure you have them." he finally said.

"Amy is right." Aaron said. "Plus, it sounds a bit crazy to try rounding up all of the Rebellion."

Adam thought for a moment. "Random question: what do you guys want to accomplish?"

"Uhh, I would like to be a hero, and I know you do, too-" Amy said, before realizing what her friend was trying to do. "Don't try to convince them. They can just get others to help."

"Quiet, Amy." Adam whispered.

Aaron didn't speak, but Amelia quickly smiled. "I just want that Legion to stop what they're doing. As for Aaron-" Aaron nudged Amelia, trying to silence her, but she didn't listen. "-he just wants to be smart or something like that. I don't understand it that much."

Adam thought for a few seconds before speaking. "Amy, if we go on this adventure, we would be heroes. You know that, right? Amelia, if we go on this adventure, we'll stop the Legion from doing their thing if we succeed, and Aaron, you know this is an adventure that requires traveling, right? That means you get to learn more."

"I'm not convinced." Aaron said, crossing his arms. "You know, I am not a nitwit. I won't fall for that."

"I, for one, think it sounds fun." Amelia said.

Amy sighed. "Adam, I know you'll go on this adventure even without us, so I might as well come and make sure you don't fall into a zombie pit or something."

Amelia brightened. "So can I come?" she asked.

"Of course." Adam replied.

"I changed my mind!" Aaron yelled all of the sudden. "I'll come too." Amelia snickered at Aaron's reaction, but didn't say anything.

Adam smiled. "Great. We should leave tomorrow. Getting some sleep would help, though."

Aaron nodded. "Yes, sleep will be important. We can plan to leave tomorrow." he said.

"Agreed." the others said in unison.

(Timeskip)

Amy was an early bird. She was used to waking up and sitting there for at least an hour, with nothing to do. In fact, it was only after some tiring event that she slept later than Adam. Today, however, she woke up to find Aaron sitting up with a book in his hands. Gazing at the cover, Any could see the title: "What to Do When Subjected to a Quest All of the Sudden".

"What a... strange book you got there, Aaron." Amy commented.

Aaron looked up, but before he could say anything, Amelia mumbled, "He has an entire shelf of them, all of them written by himself." Amy jumped when she spoke, as she had assumed Amelia was still sleeping.

"Err, yes. I do, but you never know. Stuff like this happens more than you think, actually," Aaron said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"And Aaron never lies. Usually." Amelia muttered.

Amy turned her head to Amelia. "If you're awake, why don't you get up?" she asked.

"I like to lie in bed for a bit."

"The floor, you mean?"

"Yeah. We never actually use our own beds."

Amy wanted to ask why, but she didn't. There was no need to since she had already figured out at this point that Adam and she had walked straight into a house of weirdos.


	4. Chapter 3: I Hate Mornings

**The next chapter is here 0.003 seconds after the previous one!**

 **Fun Fact: The previous chapter's document name was, "yOU KILLED A VILLAGER ADAM". This chapter's document name is, "tHE HOUSE".**

Once Adam woke up, Aaron immediately pulled out a large map and spread it across the floor with Amelia's help. In the center of the map was a red circle with the words "THE HOUSE" in it. All over the map were blue dots. Aaron pointed towards the blue dot closest to "THE HOUSE" and spoke. "See these blue dots?" he asked. "They are former members of the Rebellion, and, from my sources, this one is the closest to our home."

"Who is that?" Adam questioned.

Aaron shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. I've never met any of these people."

"How do you know their location?" Amelia questioned.

"A friend of mine was kind enough to give me maps," he answered.

"And do you know how to get there?" Amy said.

"Well, we can follow the map. I assume the first trip will take two to three days, so we must pack plenty of food."

(Timeskip)

Amy returned with piles of apples and quite a few raw porkchops, which she placed in a furnace she had just lit. Adam also brought porkchops (They both really like porkchops) along with crops he "borrowed" from the other villagers. Aaron and Amelia found more apples, which they added to Amy's pile.

All of them agreed that, although their current task was important, it was also boring.

Their next task was packing all of the food in a small bag. Amy placed one apple in at a time, and Aaron quickly stopped her. "Wait! You know you save more room if you stack them, right?"

Amy raised an eyebrow. "How? Wouldn't it take up the same amount of space?" she asked.

"It's been scientifically proven that stacking items, preferably by sixty-four or sixteen, depending on size, saves more room than if you were not to. The actual reason how, I forgot," he said. "Just stack them."

Amy stacked the apples, still confused as to how it helped.

They were soon done with packing food. Just as Amy, Adam, and Amelia went out the door, they were called back by Aaron. "We still need to pack maps, weapons, tools, and all that stuff."

Everyone groaned simultaneously.

It was midday by the time they finished. Saying goodbye to the odd, two-story house that provided temporary shelter, Amy and Adam followed Amelia and Aaron, setting off on an adventure that would change their lives.

(Timeskip)

Before the next day even came, Aaron almost died. No, he did not get attacked by a horde of zombies or get ambushed by a member of the Legion of Light. He nearly rolled off a cliff in his sleep. Adam, who had been awake at the time, screamed Aaron's name loudly and he had woken up just in time to catch himself.

That morning, Aaron established a new rule: sleeping nearby cliffs wasn't allowed. Ever. Adam was upset, muttering about the "lack of lack of cliffs", but Amy couldn't see anything wrong with the rule.

They all ate breakfast (Aaron and Amelia refused to even touch the porkchops, so their meal consisted mainly of tons of apples) before setting off. A few minutes barely passed when a skeleton sheltering under a tree shot an arrow at Adam. The skeleton was killed not even a minute later by a very angry Adam.

An Enderman passed by, vwooping as it grabbed a chunk of dirt before teleporting away with it. Upon seeing the creature, everyone shielded their eyes until they couldn't hear it nearby. When everyone thought they weren't in danger, they opened their eyes and found a zombie staggering towards them. Aaron was understandably afraid, shouting and threateningly waving his sword at it, but Amy quickly took it out.

Right when the zombie was killed and they let out a sigh of relief, they heard a hiss, and, next thing they knew, they were at the bottom of a crater, their spirits as low as they were underground.

"I hate morning," was all Amelia muttered before she fainted.

 **So, who could the first member of the rebellion be? A monster-whisperer? A pacifist? Some random person with no redeeming qualities? Find out in the next chapter!**

 **Or the chapter after that.**

 **Or 50 chapters after that.**

 **I can never promise how many chapters an arc will actually be.**


	5. Chapter 4: Rachel

The rest of the day was spent on a hill, surrounded by a crumbling wall of dirt Adam constructed on short notice. When he was done, he took a quick nap after eating a carrot. Before he slept, he was vaguely aware that everyone else was lying down to take a nap as well, and nearly scared himself awake when he realized no one would watch out for more monsters.

He was glad to wake up and see that he wasn't dead.

He saw the sun setting and knew monsters would be able to venture from the safety of caves and trees very soon. The thought made him shiver. He was glad to see everyone else wake up (including Amelia, who had slept the entire time). "We should sleep in shifts," Adam suggested. "I'd rather rest without feeling like monsters are going to attack us in our sleep."

Amy watched first. Other than a spider, which had managed to climb the wall, no monsters made it past the pathetic excuse of a barrier Adam had quickly built. When she passed the responsibility to Amelia, warning her of spiders, Amelia immediately started shaping the walls into actual walls instead of piles of dirt. Adam was woken up next, and he was surprised to find a barrier that didn't look like a mess.

After a monster-free shift, Aaron was woken up. Unfortunately for Aaron, no one told him how long a shift was supposed to be. He started the shift at midnight, and everyone woke up to find him still watching out for monsters just before dawn. They all ate breakfast before they set off, surprised that Aaron was managing to stay awake.

After a day of walking, Aaron suddenly stopped. "This is where the first member of the Rebellion is," he said, looking at the map. "We should build another structure and start searching in the morning."

After about an hour, they were huddled in a small, dome-shaped house made from an odd, yet functional, combination of dirt and wood. Amelia made sure the ceiling wouldn't collapse on them before they all slept, forgetting about shifts in the safety of their strange dome hideout.

The next morning, Amy woke everyone up and they started searching immediately. Adam looked behind trees (which obviously wielded no results), under rocks (which took forever), inside caves (creeper-filled caves, too), and even on top of crumbling cliffs (which made Aaron freak out). No matter how hard they looked, there was nothing. Night came, and they all hurried to their dome hideout to sleep before repeating the same thing next morning, albeit half-heartedly. This repeated for another day before, on the fourth day, a creeper found itself wandering into their temporary home and decided that perhaps blowing it up for the fun of it was a good idea.

With no shelter, everyone sat on top of a tree and watched as zombies crowded around, waiting for them to climb down. They all were hoping for morning to come quickly when Adam saw a glint of red in the distance. He hushed everyone and pointed them towards where he saw it.

There were two red lights shining towards them. No, two red eyes staring at them. The eyes belong to a figure in a hooded black cloak. Everyone stared for a moment before the figure sprinted off, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Before anyone knew what they were doing, they were chasing him.

The figure was running towards where the dome hideout was, panting. They were unaware that there was a horde of zombies nearby.

Amy pulled out her sword, prepared to fight the zombies in case they chased after them, but Adam didn't; the zombies would spot the figure first, and they might have a better chance of catching them if they did.

The zombies turned their heads towards the figure and made their way towards them, groaning.

The figure groaned back.

The zombies stopped, confused, glancing at each other. The figure made another sound that sounded like retching. Adam quickly decided getting his sword ready was a good idea when the zombies turned their heads towards the four of them.

Before anyone could fight, however, Aaron was sprinting towards the figure and tackled them, catching everyone by surprise. After the shock faded away, Adam ran over to the figure and bent over them, taking off their hoodie.

The figure was a lady with skin so pale you'd think she'd never seen the light of day (which was probably true). Her red eyes seemed to glow, and Adam didn't like the way she was glaring at him. "I can't believe this! Caught by the Legion of Light after so many years of hiding!" she growled, struggling to stand up.

"I'm not part of the Legion!" Adam exclaimed. "We're trying to round up the Rebellion to stop the Legion."

The lady narrowed her eyes.

"Listen," Aaron said. "They know where the Monster's Heart is, and we desperately need help."

"No way," the lady said, shocked, turning her heads towards Aaron. "You!"

Aaron glanced away. "What do you mean? We haven't met before," he said in a tone of voice that said very clearly that they met before.

Adam stood up. "Alright, do you guys know each other or not?" he asked.

"No," Aaron and the lady both said in unison. Aaron let go of her cloak and stood up as well.

The lady got up, brushing off dirt. "I mistook him for someone else, is all," she said. "He does look like just another villager."

"Gee, thanks," Aaron muttered.

"I'm Rachel," she said, holding out a hand.

Adam cautiously took it. "Adam. Nice to meet you," he answered.

Rachel narrowed her eyes again.

Amelia stepped in between the two in an attempt to break the tension. "Anyway, do you have a place you could take us to? It's cold out here," she said, before glancing around at the large amount of zombies and creepers. "And monster-infested."

 **So, our first Rebellion member is, in fact, a Monster-Whisperer who could perhaps be useful in getting past the monsters said to guard the Monster's Heart. Is Rachel trustworthy, though? Does she really know who Aaron is? Is Aaron not telling us something? Also, Adam seems to have forgotten about that special quest Amy and he were supposed to do. What happened to that?**

 **Asking questions so readers would ask themselves questions is fun.**

 **Document Name: RIP Dome Hideout**


	6. Chapter 5: Awkward Aaron

Rachel lead them past the ruins of the Dome Hideout towards a puny, pathetic oak tree. Everyone looked around it, expecting to see a ladder or a button or anything that would hint to the existence of a hideout, but found nothing. Rachel laughed at their efforts. "Have you considered looking underneath the tree?" she asked.

"Underneath the tree?" Adam repeated. "Wow, how obvious! How did I not think of that?"

Rachel was already scooping up dirt, digging beneath the tree. Everyone watched, wondering what she would unearth. It didn't take long for her to step aside and reveal a rusty lever. "Alright, welcome to my home," she said as she pulled the lever. The ground beside the tree opened up, revealing a large, shadowy cavern. "After you guys."

No one wanted to risk stepping into a dark, probably monster-invested hole, so, after a bit of bickering, Amy groaned and shoved past her friends, stepping into the cave. Adam went after her, then Amelia, then Aaron, then Rachel. Rachel pressed a button and the cavern closed, blocking off the last bit of light. The one thing anyone could see was Rachel's red eyes.

They walked quickly, hands on the hilt of their swords, prepared to fight. Amelia turned to where she believed Rachel was. "You live here?" she asked. "When was the last time you spoke to someone other than zombies? Have you ever seen the sun?"

"Hush, Amelia, no need to be rude," Aaron's voice answered.

"Ow!" Amy exclaimed, making everyone jump. "There's a wall. Which direction do we even go?"

Rachel shoved past everyone. "You guys are hopeless. Let me lead the way."

The rest of the time in the darkness, they were lead by Rachel through the cave. It felt like forever until they caught a glimpse of light and everyone felt like cheering in joy.

They walked towards the light, squinting their eyes until they adjusted. The room wasn't that grand; the floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of stone, the furniture were made with oak wood, and torches lit up the area. Adam and Amy's expression, although they said nothing, clearly showed how unimpressed they was with the place. Amelia must've thought otherwise, as her eyes were widened.

"Welcome to my home," Rachel said, stretching her arms out. "Now, is there anything we can do for you before you set off on your adventure?"

"Wait, wait," Adam said, stepping up. "You should come with us; we need the Rebellion to fight against the Legion!"

Rachel chuckled. "Us Rebellion members have our ways to come to an ally's need," she reassured him. "Anyway, unless there's something else any of you need, you should all go to sleep."

(Timeskip)

Although the stone floor was much more uncomfortable than anything they had ever slept on, everyone knew they had to sleep soon and almost everyone did sleep. By the time midnight had passed. Almost everyone.

Aaron was sitting up against the wooden chair Rachel was sleeping in, staring at the map, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out where the next nearest Rebellion member was.

"Can't you quiet down a bit so I could sleep?" Rachel suddenly asked, causing Aaron to jump up a bit. "Wait, what's that?"

Aaron glanced at his map. "Well, it's meant to lead to the Rebellion members and-"

"Who gave it to you?" Rachel asked before he could finish.

"Gail did. Why?"

Rachel shook her head and snatched the map out of Aaron's hands. "Well, Gail's choreography skills must be horrible, because I'm pretty sure half of these locations lead to a place called certain death," she said. "Do you have a quill on you?"

The next half hour was spent in silence as Rachel scratched out and made circles all over the map. Eventually, Rachel turned her head to Aaron. "I don't think anyone'll be happy when you guys come over," she said. "Y'know, 'cause of... y'know..."

"Yeah..." Aaron muttered, glancing towards the ground. "I haven't been in contact with the Rebellion for a while besides Gail, and she's pretty much Amelia except without the cheerfulness and un-annoying-ness; she just asks random questions in her letters."

"And the whole thing with your village..."

"Moving to the other one was tough. The other villagers treated me as a nitwit, except a lot more insane. Questioned why I built my house so unlike theirs and refused to trade anything. They're still like that, and..."

"It's better than the last village, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's still depressing."

Another few minutes were filled with silence, except for the sound of a quill scratching on paper.

"How's Amelia?" Rachel asked.

"She's alright. Amelia started getting interested in redstone and stuff like that."

"Cool."

"She also asks about her mother and father on occasion."

"What do you tell her?"

"The truth, of course."

"Even about their deaths?"

"I'm not completely honest about that."

"I can't blame you."

More silence. Rachel stopped writing on the map and was now sitting there, thinking.

"You know what, Aaron?"

"What?"

"You get a lot more awkward when you aren't talking about the rebellion and survival and all that stuff. Did you know that?"

"Sort of...?"

"You do. You start muttering and glancing everywhere except who you're talking to. You're probably one of the most awkward person I've met."

"Person?"

"Yeah, person." With that, Rachel handed him the map. "You should sleep now. I even drew out a route for you so you don't start mumbling again."

 **Document Name: who da heck is gail**

 **What's this? A character with a mysterious backstory plus possible foreshadowing?**


	7. Chapter 6: Catch a Star

**Ayy, a new picture that actually has some meaning to the story.**

"Rachel," Amy said, walking up to the strange, red-eyed woman. "Why can't you come?"

Rachel turned around, and Amy was surprised to see her looking tired, almost sleepy. It was either that or the sun shining into her eyes, which were unused to the bright light. "Well, if you need help, all you need to do is to ask another Rebellion member, and they'll get me quicker than you can imagine," she answered. "And before you ask why I can't find the Rebellion members myself, it's because they don't know the world's in any danger as far as I know. I'm not going to tell you how we find each other so fast, but let's just say that our means of seeing each other was taken apart after the Legion seemed to have faded into history."

"Of course," Amy muttered, but she was suspicious; Rachel hadn't really answered her question. Before she could question Rachel further, Adam called her name. With that, everyone waved their hands at Rachel, saying bye to her, and set off to find the next Rebellion member.

Adam peered onto the map. "Where's our next destination?" he asked, scanning the map for a short while. "We're going to a cliff overlooking the sea?"

"Yes, we are," Aaron said. "According to Rachel, this is where someone named Smokey lives."

Sure enough, the circle on the map they were heading to was labeled, "Smokey's".

"How long will it take to get there?" Amy asked.

"It's just a day away," Aaron said. "We'll stop halfway to rest, then walk the rest of the way."

(Timeskip)

It didn't take long for the four of them to find a dirt road. It was boardered by lamps and fences to ensure no monsters came. It was free of obstacles such as cliffs, pools of water, and hills. It was even surrounded by a bed of poppies and dandelions and had a sign displaying the words, "Smokey's, A Day Away".

Amy was disappointed in the lack of danger, no matter how relieving it was at the same time.

When night fell, they were forced to leave the dirt road so they wouldn't block the way for any other passerbys. Adam lead them to a hill and, with the help of Amelia, built another dirt wall around it so they'd sleep safely. Amy gathered wood and piled it up while Aaron taught her how to make a campfire. It wasn't long until they were gathered around warm, flickering flames. The light from the fire casted a welcoming glow around them and made the shadows dance as if they were excited for the light as well.

"You can see the stars clearly from here," Amelia whispered in awe, pointing towards the star-speckled night sky.

Adam nudged Amy. "Hey," he said, a smile forming on his face as he pointed up. "Why don't you climb up and catch one of them?"

Amy smiled back, unaware that Aaron and Amelia were staring at each other, confused as to what Adam was even talking about. Amelia was about to ask what Adam meant by, "catch a star", when Aaron pulled out some apples and told everyone to eat. Everyone ate all their apples except Amelia, who saved one. "I want to see what happens when you cook an apple," she declared, tossing the apple into the fire, which quickly turned into the one thing that went wrong that night.

Yet, everyone ignored the burnt, shapeless brown lump that now sat in their campfire and instead chatted and joked and laughed. As the last of the embers died, they all agreed it was time to sleep.

No one noticed the pair of red eyes watching them.

(Timeskip)

The sun had risen, and everyone, disappointed to leave behind the cheer from last night, took down the dirt wall, gathered all of their stuff, and set off towards Smokey's. It didn't take long for Amelia to remember something. "Adam, what does, 'catch a star' mean?"

"It's an inside joke," Adam answered. "You might not understand it."

"Guys," Amy said. "I see a building."

Sure enough, there was a structure that looked a lot like a large house. The outside walls were painted pink and there were windows lined with red curtains with pictures of pastries and bread plastered all over them. The door was made of glass, and the small glimpses of inside showed a bunch of circular tables surrounded by chairs, occupied by people eating cookies.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, for a moment, before Adam finally spoke. "Aaron, are you sure we went the right way? This... this is a bakery."

Aaron simply pointed numbly towards a wooden sign by the door displaying the word, "Smokey's".

They all stood there, not moving. The only thing that broke them out of their trance-like state was someone shouting the words, "Stop! Thief!"


End file.
